Ring-ting-ting,
two cats on a swing,
the undead pets
of the Old Grey Kings.

One’s made of blood
and the other’s
borne of meat,
they stalk in the night
and they stink in the heat.

He reaches out to pet them
with his bone-white claw,
and they pur,
and they rumble,
and they snap their sharp maws!

So don’t be a fool
should you spot these two pests,
and always burn your dead
when they’re laid to rest!

© Katherine Steffeter